Music News: Bob Dylan getting into whiskey business

Bob Dylan has never ceased to surprise, and the 76-year-old music icon has done it again with his latest venture: a line of high-end whiskeys. Heaven's Door whiskeys will be introduced next month, with a straight rye, a straight bourbon and a "double-barreled" whiskey, along with an annual Bootleg Series of limited-edition whiskeys. Standard bottles will run about $50-$80 a bottle, with the ceramic Bootleg Series bottles going for about $300 each.

"The label design is derived from his ironwork sculptures, with rural iconography — crows, wagon wheels — in silhouette," reports the New York Times. Promotional photos "portray Mr. Dylan as an urbane but still gritty crooner — one who might well wind down his day with a glass of bourbon."

"We both wanted to create a collection of American whiskeys that, in their own way, tell a story," said Dylan in a statement. "I've been traveling for decades, and I've been able to try some of the best spirits that the world of whiskey has to offer. This is great whiskey."

Remembering Charles Neville

Saxophonist Charles Neville has died of pancreatic cancer at age 79. He'd been a proficient jazzman for decades before he and three of his brothers formed the Neville Brothers in 1977. The group, which would make all four famous, "melded rhythm and blues, gospel, doo-wop, rock, blues, soul, jazz, funk and New Orleans's own parade and Mardi Gras rhythms, in songs that mingled a party spirit with social consciousness," notes the New York Times.

"You'll always be in my heart and soul, like a tattoo," wrote his brother Aaron Neville in a memoriam.

George Clinton to retire from touring

Funk legend George Clinton has announced that after one more year on the road, he'll retire from touring. "This has been coming a long time," said Clinton, who's now 76. "Anyone who has been to the shows over the past couple of years has noticed that I've been out front less and less. Truth be told, it's never really been about me. It's always been about the music and the band. That's the real P-Funk legacy. They'll still be funkin' long after I stop." (Rolling Stone)

Kanye keeps it coming

After emerging from seclusion, declaring that he's writing a "real-time philosophy book" on Twitter, announcing two new albums, and embracing President Donald Trump, Kanye West isn't slowing down. In recent days he's released two new tracks, one of which is a duet in which T.I. seems to play the role of peers and fans who have taken West to task for his pro-Trump statements. He's also shared what he says will be the artwork for his new album: a photo of the plastic surgeon who performed a breast-reduction surgery on West's mother the day before her death. (Rolling Stone, Billboard, Billboard)